It’s about time for Apple to bring Apple TV+ to Android
Apple has recently doubled down on subscriptions with even more diversified offerings infitness, games, andstreaming. After Music, Apple TV+ is probably the biggest stepping stone in its ambitious plans for its services business, though it needed a kickstart to rank in this crowded streaming space. Apple banded together with Hollywood A-listers for its lineup of originals (many of which, likeTed LassoandFor All Mankind,garnered critical acclaim) and even bundled complimentary subscriptions with its products.
The outcome of those efforts, however, is still debatable, but if there’s one thing that Apple TV+ has clearly missed out on from day one is proper support for billions of phones and tablets running Android, something that holds it back to this day.
Even though most of the movie watching happens on big living room screens, mobile devices still make for a critical part of the equation, be it for catching up with an episode while on the go or quickly adding stuff to your watchlist. It’s evident from Disney+, which debuted alongside Apple TV+ but hasreceived over 100 million downloadson the Play Store — though Disney is undoubtedly a bigger brand than Apple in the entertainment world, which might have helped. Regardless, even Apple’s own Music apphas over 50 million installson the Play Store, but Apple TV+ remains absent from Android phones — although, notentirely. Apple lets you access TV+ through a workaround on Android devices, though it’s so bad that you’d want to stay away from it.
The current (awful) state of Apple TV+ on Android devices
Remember when Apple “brought”FaceTime to Android phones? You could join FaceTime calls on non-iOS devices for the first time — but you needed a browser for that. For Apple TV+ you’ll have to jump through similar hoops if you want to sit back and watch an episode ofTed Lassoon your Android tablet.
It goes without saying that streaming full-screen videos in a phone browser is always going to give you a poorer experience than a native app, with various scaling issues cropping up. This applies to other mainstream services, too, including YouTube. For Apple TV+ specifically, many users who decide to go with this in-browser workaround come across a number ofbugs that affect playbackand sometimesprevent them from even signing upfor the service. Others note that their Up Next list won’t show up and that watching shows in a browserdoesn’t save your progress.
The Apple TV website is a stripped-down version of the app, so you could’t watch videos that you’ve rented or purchased from iTunes. And nor is it a properprogressive web appthat you could just add to your home screen for a slightly better, more app-like experience. None of that is possible with Apple TV’s current state on Android and would likely only change if Apple made a dedicated app for Google’s mobile platform — an idea that isn’tthatfar-fetched.
Apple on Android
Apple currently has agrand total of three apps(not counting the Beats app) specifically made for Android phones and tablets. Apple Music is the most popular one, while the other two include abasic app to track any rogue AirTagand an app to move your data from Android to iOS (not the other way around, of course). The last two apps have limited scope on Android, and all the critical app reviews suggest that users aren’t particularly pleased with what little they can do. But the story is a little different for Apple Music.
When theApple Music app landed on Androidback in 2015, it turned out to be a surprisingly good experience. Apple even pays attention to the little details by adopting key paradigms from Google’s Android design guidelines, like a hamburger menu, the familiar three-dot menu, and the option to cast your music to Chromecast devices. A couple of years later, Applegave the app a major faceliftto bring it on par with its iOS counterpart, and new features continue to arrive even today. Apple Music on Androidhas supported lossless audiosince last year, and the company was recently spotted working onredesigned home screen widgetsthat pick colors from album arts.
Clearly, Apple is capable of making and supporting Android apps. Apple Music is an excellent example of what Apple’s cross-platform services could look like if the company ever wanted to open up its tightly-knit ecosystem. Apple TV+ seems like the next logical step. Much like with Apple Music, Apple has a financial incentive to make TV+ available on non-iOS handsets, helping it better counter big-league opponents like Netflix and Disney+. That’s all the more reason to have a real presence on the world’s most popular mobile platform. And it isn’t like Apple has never made an Apple TV+ app for Android.
Apple TV+ ❤️ Android TV
Roku and Fire TVcommand a larger chunk of the marketin the US, so it was natural forApple TV+ to land on them before Android TV. Apple, which is usually notorious for locking you into its hardware, even teamed up with three major TV makers – LG, Samsung, and Sony – to not only offer Apple TV+ on their TV sets but also AirPlay, enabling better compatibility with Apple devices.
It was only last year thatApple TV+ then finally made its way to Google’s TV platformin all its glory through the Play Store, finally supporting a variety of existing Android TV boxes and TV sets after initially being limited to Sony units running the OS.
Inmy experience with Apple TV+ on Google TV, the app still had a few bugs, but they didn’t adversely affect the viewing experience. The interface is very similar to what you get on the Apple TV box, and you get access to your entire purchased/rented library and all the sub-channels you’ve subscribed to through Apple TV.
All these features would make for a significant upgrade over how you’re currently supposed to access Apple TV+ on an Android phone — if only Apple were reading this.
Without a Disney Plus-like extensive library of old or licensed shows and movies, Apple TV+ isn’t quite in the position to leverage its content catalog to attract subscribers. That’s the reason it initially banked on its hardware buyers by offering bundled subscriptions to help the streaming service gain some traction.
From Apple’s standpoint, Android phones and tablets probably don’t fit into this equation, even though many of us use a combination of Apple and Android devices and could benefit from wider access to Apple TV+. With shows likeTed LassoandThe Morning Showgarnering a universal appeal across users, it only makes sense for Apple TV+ to make its way to Android devices sooner rather than later.
In the meantime, you canstick to using a streaming device on your living room TVto catch up on your favorite shows on Apple TV+.
Via the Phone Link app, of course
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